A PROJECT ADAPT WEBQUEST

Ms. R. Berman

Roosevelt High School

Social Studies Teacher

Yonkers, NY

”In many parts of this country, there are communities which would appear unrecognizable to the majority of Americans. Immigrants to the United States once made a valiant effort to learn English and create a good life for their families. Today, many of today’s immigrants want the rights entitled to American citizens, without making any effort to assimilate.” (American Daily 8/26/08). Immigrants have been coming to America since the founding of Jamestown in 1609. Initially most immigrants wanted to become Americanized because they fled their country and had no intention of returning. Today we have a new set of problems. Many immigrants are not assimilating: They speak their own language, they remain in small communities together, and their children are not socialized to the American way. Our democracy cannot be maintained without assimilated and socialized Americans.

· The problem is severe because people who are not assimilated are non voters.

· Immediate attention is required because the longer the problem remains unresolved, the worse it becomes.

· Consequences of ignoring this are growing subcultures that remain separate and distinct from the main culture. This will create the SOCIAL PROBLEM of a weakening of the social fabric; LOOSENING THE BONDS THAT UNITE US AS AMERICANS!

· Non-assimilation has been associated with an increase in crime, family problems, negative community reaction, poor academic achievement and low paying occupational paths.

You are a member of the Yonkers Chamber of Commerce. Mayor Amicone wants to help immigrants to our city assimilate. Your group is to create a power point and oral presentation for the Mayor and City Council to describe the problem of immigration without assimilation with a solution

Your task is to create a Power Point Presentation to give to the City Council. This presentation will have 12 slides based upon the 6 steps of the Public Policy Analyst. (PPA) 2 slides to define the problem, 2 slides to gather the evidence, 2 slides to identify causes, 2 slides to evaluate an existing policy, 2 slides to develop solutions, and 2 slides to select the best solution. Be sure to define assimilation and its relationship to immigration in one of your first slides.

The use of graphics, pictures, and statistics, will enhance your final product. A rubric will be used to grade your presentation.

When Mayor Amicone and the Council view the power point, the appropriate council members will contact the Yonkers community based organizations that have responsibility for the problems raised in your presentations. The goal will be outreach on a regular basis to encourage and assist with the assimilation process.

The Public Policy Analyst will be the format we use to facilitate this process.

The class will be divided into groups of four. Each member will have specific responsibilities as detailed below.

· One person will be the leader. This person will be responsible for ensuring that each person in the group is following and meeting their specific role. They are to lead the group through each stage of the process.

· The Recorder will take notes gathered by the group members and be responsible for formally completing the Power Point.

· The third member will be the Researcher. This person needs to be adept at utilizing the computer and internet to look up specific websites and links to research information to complete analysis of proposal.

· The last member of the group will present the groups findings, data, and proposal to the class. This person needs to be comfortable speaking to an audience and articulating his feelings.

THE SIX STEP PUBLIC POLICY ANALYST

The PPA, the Public Policy Analyst, is designed to help you analyze a social problem and give you steps to solve the problem. Access each web page

then read how each step in the process leads to a public policy solution to the social problem. Then complete all six worksheets using the Internet links

listed in the “resource” section of the web quest. These worksheets will form the outline for your power point presentation. All six steps must be included in the slide presentation. Your group can divide up the slides per step as you deem necessary.

Step 1: Identify the problem Worksheet 1

Step 2: Gather the evidence Worksheet 2

Step 3: Determine the Causes Worksheet 3

Step 4: Examine an existing Policy Worksheet 4

Step 5: Develop (3) Policy Solutions Worksheet 5

Step 6: Select the Best Solution/Policy based on Effectiveness vs. Feasibility Worksheet 6

GENERAL WEB SITES

WWW.YAHOO.COM

WWW.GOOGLE.COM

IMMIGRATION WEB SITES

American Daily Step 2

North Country Gazette Step 1

Immigration and Assimilation Step 4

Definition Step 1

http://partisano.gnn.tv/blogs/18942/The_causes_of_immigration Step 3

Bilingual Education Step 4

Gather the Evidence Step 2

Identify the Causes Step 3

Develop Solutions Step 5

Immigrations and Assimilation Today Step 5

POWER POINT RUBRIC

	SUPERIOR PERFORMANCE	PROFICIENT PERFORMANCE	ACCEPTABLE PERFORMANCE	LIMITED PERFORMANCE
POWER POINT PRESENTATION	Exceptional opening that catches the viewers' interest	Effective opening that catches the viewers' interest	Acceptable opening that catches the viewers' interest	Ineffective opening that doesn't catch the viewers' interest
	Smooth transitions between pages	Transitions exist between pages	Some transitions exist between pages	Transitions are unclear
	Has an exceptional conclusion	Has an effective conclusion	Has a conclusion	Has no sense of conclusion
	Deals with topic in an unique and creative fashion	Deals with topic in an interesting and creative fashion	Deals with topic in an ordinary fashion	Topic is insufficiently developed

By completing this web quest, you now have become an active member of your community. You have participated in the process of creating public policy by becoming a public Policy Analyst. You have learned that the implementation of public policy creates positive change. In this case you have greatly improved students’ educational opportunities. Moreover, you have learned the importance of a public policy analyst. As one yourself, you have implemented positive changes in the New York State curriculum and have become an active participant in improving the education of millions. In reality, you have taken advantage of your “Constitutional Rights” as an active citizen in the American democratic process. Thank you for your participation. Let’s hope you made a difference!

Social Studies o § Standard - 1 - History of the United States and New York Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in the history of the United States and New York. § Key Idea - 1 - The study of New York State and United States history requires an analysis of the development of American culture, its diversity and multicultural context, and the ways people are unified by many values, practices, and traditions. § Performance Indicator - analyze the development of American culture, explaining how ideas, values, beliefs, and traditions have changed over time and how they unite all Americans. § Performance Indicator - describe the evolution of American democratic values and beliefs as expressed in the Declaration of Independence, the New York State Constitution, the United States Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and other important historical documents. § Key Idea - 2 - Important ideas, social and cultural values, beliefs, and traditions from New York State and United States history illustrate the connections and interactions of people and events across time and from a variety of perspectives. § Performance Indicator - discuss several schemes for periodizing the history of New York State and the United States. § Performance Indicator - develop and test hypotheses about important events, eras, or issues in New York State and United States history, setting clear and valid criteria for judging the importance and significance of these events, eras, or issues. § Performance Indicator - compare and contrast the experiences of different groups in the United States. § Performance Indicator - examine how the Constitution, United States law, and the rights of citizenship provide a major unifying factor in bringing together Americans from diverse roots and traditions. § Performance Indicator - analyze the United States involvement in foreign affairs and a willingness to engage in international politics, examining the ideas and traditions leading to these foreign policies. § Performance Indicator - compare and contrast the values exhibited and foreign policies implemented by the United States and other nations over time with those expressed in the United Nations Charter and international law. § Key Idea - 3 - Study about the major social, political, economic, cultural, and religious developments in New York State and United States history involves learning about the important roles and contributions of individuals and groups. § Performance Indicator - compare and contrast the experiences of different ethnic, national, and religious groups, including Native American Indians, in the United States, explaining their contributions to American society and culture. § Performance Indicator - research and analyze the major themes and developments in New York State and United States history (e.g., colonization and settlement; Revolution and New National Period; immigration; expansion and reform era; Civil War and Reconstruction; The American labor movement; Great Depression; World Wars; contemporary United States). § Performance Indicator - prepare essays and oral reports about the important social, political, economic, scientific, technological, and cultural developments, issues, and events from New York State and United States history. § Performance Indicator - understand the interrelationships between world events and developments in New York State and the United States (e.g., causes for immigration, economic opportunities, human rights abuses, and tyranny versus freedom). § Key Idea - 4 - The skills of historical analysis include the ability to: explain the significance of historical evidence; weigh the importance, reliability, and validity of evidence; understand the concept of multiple causation; understand the importance of changing and competing interpretations of different historical developments. § Performance Indicator - analyze historical narratives about key events in New York State and United States history to identify the facts and evaluate the authors' perspectives. § Performance Indicator - consider different historians' analyses of the same event or development in United States history to understand how different viewpoints and/or frames of reference influence historical interpretations. § Performance Indicator - evaluate the validity and credibility of historical interpretations of important events or issues in New York State or United States history, revising these interpretations as new information is learned and other interpretations are developed. (Adapted from National Standards for United States History) § Standard - 2 - World History Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in world history and examine the broad sweep of history from a variety of perspectives. § Key Idea - 1 - The study of world history requires an understanding of world cultures and civilizations, including an analysis of important ideas, social and cultural values, beliefs, and traditions. This study also examines the human condition and the connections and interactions of people across time and space and the ways different people view the same event or issue from a variety of perspectives. § Performance Indicator - define culture and civilization, explaining how they developed and changed over time. Investigate the various components of cultures and civilizations including social customs, norms, values, and traditions; political systems; economic systems; religions and spiritual beliefs; and socialization or educational practices. § Performance Indicator - understand the development and connectedness of Western civilization and other civilizations and cultures in many areas of the world and over time. § Performance Indicator - analyze historic events from around the world by examining accounts written from different perspectives. § Performance Indicator - understand the broad patterns, relationships, and interactions of cultures and civilizations during particular eras and across eras. § Performance Indicator - analyze changing and competing interpretations of issues, events, and developments throughout world history. § Key Idea - 2 - Establishing time frames, exploring different periodizations, examining themes across time and within cultures, and focusing on important turning points in world history help organize the study of world cultures and civilizations. § Performance Indicator - distinguish between the past, present, and future by creating multiple-tier timelines that display important events and developments from world history across time and place. § Performance Indicator - evaluate the effectiveness of different models for the periodization of important historic events, identifying the reasons why a particular sequence for these events was chosen. § Performance Indicator - analyze evidence critically and demonstrate an understanding of how circumstances of time and place influence perspective. § Performance Indicator - explain the importance of analyzing narratives drawn from different times and places to understand historical events. § Performance Indicator - investigate key events and developments and major turning points in world history to identify the factors that brought about change and the long-term effects of these changes. § Key Idea - 3 - Study of the major social, political, cultural, and religious developments in world history involves learning about the important roles and contributions of individuals and groups. § Performance Indicator - analyze the roles and contributions of individuals and groups to social, political, economic, cultural, and religious practices and activities. § Performance Indicator - explain the dynamics of cultural change and how interactions between and among cultures has affected various cultural groups throughout the world. § Performance Indicator - examine the social/cultural, political, economic, and religious norms and values of Western and other world cultures. § Key Idea - 4 - The skills of historical analysis include the ability to investigate differing and competing interpretations of the theories of history, hypothesize about why interpretations change over time, explain the importance of historical evidence, and understand the concepts of change and continuity over time. § Performance Indicator - identify historical problems, pose analytical questions or hypotheses, research analytical questions or test hypotheses, formulate conclusions or generalizations, raise new questions or issues for further investigation. § Performance Indicator - interpret and analyze documents and artifacts related to significant developments and events in world history. § Performance Indicator - plan and organize historical research projects related to regional or global interdependence. § Performance Indicator - analyze different interpretations of important events, issues, or developments in world history by studying the social, political, and economic context in which they were developed; by testing the data source for reliability and validity, credibility, authority, authenticity, and completeness; and by detecting bias, distortion of the facts, and propaganda by omission, suppression, or invention of facts. (Taken from National Standards for World History) § Standard - 3 - Geography Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of the geography of the interdependent world in which we live-local, national, and global-including the distribution of people, places, and environments over the Earth's surface. § Key Idea - 1 - Geography can be divided into six essential elements which can be used to analyze important historic, geographic, economic, and environmental questions and issues. These six elements include: the world in spatial terms, places and regions, physical settings (inculding natural resources) and, human systems, environment and society, and the use of geography. (Adapted from The National Geography Standards, 1994: Geography for Life). § Performance Indicator - understand how to develop and use maps and other graphic representations to display geographic issues, problems, and questions. § Performance Indicator - describe the physical characteristics of the Earth's surface and investigate the continual reshaping of the surface by physical processes and human activities. § Performance Indicator - investigate the characteristics, distribution, and migration of human populations on the Earth's surface. (Taken from National Geography Standards, 1994) § Performance Indicator - understand the development and interactions of social/cultural, political, economic, and religious systems in different regions of the world. § Performance Indicator - analyze how the forces of cooperation and conflict among people influence the division and control of the Earth's surface. (Taken from National Geography Standards, 1994) § Performance Indicator - explain how technological change affects people, places, and regions. § Key Idea - 2 - Geography requires the development and application of the skills of asking and answering geographic questions; analyzing theories of geography; and acquiring, organizing, and analyzing geographic information. (Adapted from: The National Geography Standards, 1994: Geography for Life). § Performance Indicator - plan, organize, and present geographic research projects. § Performance Indicator - locate and gather geographic information from a variety of primary and secondary sources. (Taken from National Geography Standards, 1994) § Performance Indicator - select and design maps, graphs, tables, charts, diagrams, and other graphic representations to present geographic information. § Performance Indicator - analyze geographic information by developing and testing inferences and hypotheses, and formulating conclusions from maps, photographs, computer models, and other geographic representations. (Adapted from National Geography Standards, 1994) § Performance Indicator - develop and test generalizations and conclusions and pose analytical questions based on the results of geographic inquiry. § Standard - 4 - Economics Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of how the United States and other societies develop economic systems and associated institutions to allocate scarce resources, how major decision-making units function in the U.S. and other national economies, and how an economy solves the scarcity problem through market and nonmarket mechanisms. § Key Idea - 1 - The study of economics requires an understanding of major economic concepts and systems, the principles of economic decision making, and the interdependence of economies and economic systems throughout the world. § Performance Indicator - analyze the effectiveness of varying ways societies, nations, and regions of the world attempt to satisfy their basic needs and wants by utilizing scarce resources. § Performance Indicator - define and apply basic economic concepts such as scarcity, supply/demand, opportunity costs, production, resources, money and banking, economic growth, markets, costs, competition, and world economic systems. § Performance Indicator - understand the nature of scarcity and how nations of the world make choices which involve economic and social costs and benefits. § Performance Indicator - describe the ideals, principles, structure, practices, accomplishments, and problems related to the United States economic system. § Performance Indicator - compare and contrast the United States economic system with other national economic systems, focusing on the three fundamental economic questions. § Performance Indicator - explain how economic decision making has become global as a result of an interdependent world economy. § Performance Indicator - understand the roles in the economic system of consumers, producers, workers, investors, and voters. § Key Idea - 2 - Economics requires the development and application of the skills needed to make informed and well-reasoned economic decisions in daily and national life. § Performance Indicator - identify, locate, and evaluate economic information from standard reference works, newspapers, periodicals, computer databases, monographs, textbooks, government publications, and other primary and secondary sources. § Performance Indicator - use economic information by identifying similarities and differences in trends; inferring relationships between various elements of an economy: organizing and arranging information in charts, tables, and graphs; extrapolating and making conclusions about economic questions, issues, and problems. § Performance Indicator - apply a problem-solving model to identify economic problems or issues, generate hypotheses, test hypotheses, investigate and analyze selected data, consider alternative solutions or positions, and make decisions about the best solution or position. § Performance Indicator - present economic information and conclusions in different formats, including graphic representations, computer models, research reports, and oral presentations. § Standard - 5 - Civics, Citizenship, and Government Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of the necessity for establishing governments; the governmental system of the U.S. and other nations; the United States Constitution; the basic civic values of American constitutional democracy; and the roles, rights, and responsibilities of citizenship, including avenues of participation. §Key Idea - 1 - The study of civics, citizenship, and government involves learning about political systems; the purposes of government and civic life; and the differing assumptions held by people across time and place regarding power, authority, and governance, and law. (Adapted from The National Standards for Civics and Government, 1994). §Performance Indicator - analyze how the values of a nation and international organizations affect the guarantee of human rights and make provisions for human needs. §Performance Indicator - consider the nature and evolution of constitutional democracies throughout the world. §Performance Indicator - compare various political systems with that of the United States in terms of ideology, structure, function, institutions, decision-making processes, citizenship roles, and political culture. §Performance Indicator - identify and analyze advantages and disadvantages of various governmental systems. §Key Idea - 2 - The state and federal governments established by the Constitutions of the United States and the State of New York embody basic civic values (such as justice, honesty, self-discipline, due process, equality, majority rule with respect for minority rights, and respect for self, others, and property), principles, and practices and establish a system of shared and limited government. (Adapted from The National Standards for Civics and Government, 1994). §Performance Indicator - trace the evolution of American values, beliefs, and institutions. §Performance Indicator - analyze the disparities between civic values expressed in the United States Constitution and the United Nation Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the realities as evidenced in the political, social, and economic life in the United States and throughout the world. §Performance Indicator - identify, respect, and model those core civic values inherent in our founding documents that have been forces for unity in American society. §Performance Indicator - compare and contrast the Constitutions of the United States and New York State. §Performance Indicator - understand the dynamic relationship between federalism and state's rights. §Key Idea - 3 - Central to civics and citizenship is an understanding of the roles of the citizen within the American constitutional democracy, and the scope and limitations of a citizen's rights and responsibilities. §Performance Indicator - understand how citizenship includes the exercise of certain personal responsibilities, including voting, considering the rights and interests of others, behaving in a civil manner, and accepting responsibility for the consequences of one's actions. (Adapted from The National Standards for Civics and Government,1994) §Performance Indicator - analyze issues at the local, state, and national levels and prescribe responses that promote the public interest or general welfare, such as planning and carrying out a voter registration campaign. §Performance Indicator - describe how citizenship is defined by the Constitution and important laws. §Performance Indicator - explore how citizens influence public policy in a representative democracy. §Key Idea - 4 - The study of civics and citizenship requires the ability to probe ideas and assumptions, ask and answer analytical questions, take a skeptical attitude toward questionable arguments, evaluate evidence, formulate rational conclusions, and develop and refine participatory skills. §Performance Indicator - participate as informed citizens in the political justice system and processes of the United States, including voting. §Performance Indicator - evaluate, take, and defend positions on what the fundamental values and principles of American political life are and their importance to the maintenance of constitutional democracy. (Adapted from The National Standards for Civics and Government, 1994) §Performance Indicator - take, defend, and evaluate positions about attitudes that facilitate thoughtful and effective participation in public affairs. §Performance Indicator - consider the need to respect the rights of others, to respect others' points of view. (Adapted from The National Standards for Civics and Government, 1996) §Performance Indicator - participate in school/classroom/community activities that focus on an issue or problem. §Performance Indicator - prepare a plan of action that defines an issue or problem, suggests alternative solutions or courses of action, evaluates the consequences for each alternative solution or course of action, prioritizes the solutions based on established criteria, and proposes an action plan to address the issue or to resolve the problem. §Performance Indicator - explain how democratic principles have been used in resolving an issue or problem. English Language Arts Standard 1:   Language for Information and Understanding Students will listen, speak, read, and write for information and understanding. As listeners and readers, students will collect data, facts, and ideas; discover relationships, concepts, and generalizations; and use knowledge generated from oral, written, and electronically produced texts. As speakers and writers, they will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language to acquire, interpret, apply, and transmit information. Standard 2:   Language for Literary Response and Expression Students will read and listen to oral, written, and electronically produced texts and performances from American and world literature; relate texts and performances to their own lives; and develop an understanding of the diverse social, historical, and cultural dimensions the texts and performances represent. As speakers and writers, students will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language for self-expression and artistic creation. Standard 3:   Language for Critical Analysis and Evaluation Students will listen, speak, read, and write for critical analysis and evaluation. As listeners and readers, students will analyze experiences, ideas, information, and issues presented by others using a variety of established criteria. As speakers and writers, they will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language to present, from a variety of perspectives, their opinions and judgments on experiences, ideas, information and issues. Standard 4:   Language for Social Interaction Students will listen, speak, read, and write for social interaction. Students will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language for effective social communication with a wide variety of people. As readers and listeners, they will use the social communications of others to enrich their understanding of people and their views.